Fire-extinguishing agent



- UNITED STATES FWQEO Mme GEORGE E. FERGUSON AND LUIS Ijl'ECkE-LMANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS T0 PYRENE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FIBE-EXTINGUIS HING AGENT.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, GEoRGE E. FERGU- SON and LUIS E. ECKELMANN, citizens of the United States, and residents of the city,

county, and State of New 'York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Extinguishing Agents, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to produce a foam particularly adapted for use as a fire extinguishing agent which has certain new and useful properties which will broaden its application and render its use more extensive and efficient.

Foam consists, generally speaking, of a gas trapped or retained in a liquid film, or it may be considered as a dense mass of bubbles. It is obvious that the longer these bubbles can be made to last and the finer the bubbles the better the foam will be for this particular use and the greater will be its ap plication.

Using the ordinary reaction of bicarbonate of soda solution and aluminium sul- ,found to have distinctive properties and to produce certain results which made it valuable for this purpose in some respects but not so good in others. Glue gives bubbles, small volume to the foam and, at the same time, renders the foam hard or dried out; licorice gives a very slimy, tenacious foam with large bubbles of rather uneven consistency but produces a much larger volume of foam than the glue; saponin gives a much greater surface tension than either the glue or the licorice and seems to advantageously combine the properties of the two and, also, it being a very poisonous colloid, in addition to its property of increasing the surface tension, renders it valuable as a germicide to prevent the growth of organisms in the glue and licorice solutions.

We found that by taking the best results from a series of tests, using varying amounts of glue with the same proportions of aluminium sulphate and bicarbonate solutions;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4L, 1922.

Application filed. October 23, 1919. Serial No. 332,810.

conditions and, likewise, the best results from a similar series of experiments using saponin, combining these proportions in one solution and running periments with varying amounts of the combination of these,-we finally produced a very homogeneous foam which incorporated the desirable qualities of all three. The proportions which we found to give the best results were as follows:

136.3% by volume of a 10% solution of g ue. Y

45.4% by volume of "a 10% solution of licorice.

18.3% by volume of a 10% solution of saponin.

We found that the precipitate formed in the'reaction between thealuminium salt and the alkali carbonate was, in a large measure, the skeleton body of the foam, the bubbles being lodged in the interstices. Upon microscopical examination, we found that the cellular structure of the aluminium hydroxide which enclosed the bubbles of carbon dioxide gas was not dense enough in body to prevent the bubbles migrating and joining with each other, to the ultimate'result of their premature collapsing and consequent destruction of the foam.

We realized that if the bubbles could be produced in small form and prevented from changing after formation this difliculty would, in part, be overcome. With this end a similar series of exin view we investigated several salts which of crystallization, molecular weights and solubilities, certain of these salt-s eliminate themselves from further consideration in this connection. We found that the hydroxide of iron formed by the reaction:

was best suited to our purposes, both as to seemed to dry the nature of the precipitate and the acidic value of the salt.

Our first line of experiments demonstrated that our alkaline solution was not alkaline enough to compensate for the. acidity of the ferric chloride and our precipitate of ferric hydroxide and aluminum hydrox-' ide was not copious enou h. To overcome this difl culty wev experimented on the alkaline solution to increaseits alkalinity and found that the addition of sodium carbonate to replace a certain amount of the bicarbonate of soda gave us the desired result and the foam was more. homogeneous and had a firmer, closer strucaddition of a small-amount of glycerine to the solutions before mixing prevented this to a large extent, due to theglycerine having the property of retaining moisture indefinitely.

As a result of our. experiments we found that thefoam which produces the ideal re= sults for the purpose indicated is compounded as follows:

An alkaline solution composed of sodium carbonate crystals, 8.83 ozs.; bicarbonate of soda, 1 lb. 10.24 ozs.; water, 12 quarts 6.4 ozs. An acid solution composed of ferric chloride, 9.07 ozs.; aluminum sulphate, 3 lbs. 5.4 -ozs.; water, 4 quarts 25.8 ozs.

To increase the surface tension of the bubbles generated by the, mixing of .the alkaline and acid solutions We add a small amount of the 10%solution of the glue, licorice and saponin mixture, outlined in the first part ofthis, specification, to either or both of the foam generating solutions. The

amount used varies according to the degree of surface tension desired, and other conditions. This can be prepared in solid form to mix with the dry salt, if desired.

We have found that the best results are produced when all three of the said sub stances (glue, licorice and saponin) are mixed with both of the foam generating 1 solutions but we alsofound that good resuits were produced when the sam was mixed with only one, preferablythe alkaline solution, and, consequently, we do not wish to be understood as confining ourselves to' the particular substances or proportions as herein set out and described as the same represent the result of our experiments which were conducted for the purpose of determining a foam generating medium which would producea foam more efficient for the purpose of extinguishing fires in Which the ordinary foam is. not efiective, for the reasons hereinbefore set out, and extensive tests with the foam-produced according to our invention have shown entirely satisfactory results and have demonstrated its superior sufliciency.

What we claim is 1. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an alkaline solution, an acid solution containing two different salts dissolved in water, and an ingredient adapted when said solutions are mixed to generate atenacious foam.

2. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an alkaline s olution, an acid solution containing aluminium sulphate and another salt dissolved in water, as an ingredient adapted when said solutions are mixed to generate a tenacious foam.

8. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an alkaline solution and an'acid solution containing aluminium sulphate and ferric chloride dissolved in water, said solutions when mixed being adapted to generate a foam.

4. .A fire extinguishing agent, comprising analkaline solution containing sodium bicarbonate and another sa'lt dissolved in water and an acid compound in solution, and an ingredient adapted when said solutions are mixed to generate a tenacious foam.

5. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an' alkaline solution containing sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate dissolved in water and an acid' compound in solution, and an ingredient adapted when said solutions are mixed to generate a tenacious foam.

6. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an alkaline solution containing sodium bicarbonate and sodium .carbonate and an acid solution containing aluminium sulphate and ferric chloride, said solutions when mixed being adapted to generate a foam.

'- 7. A fire extinguishing agent, com rising an alkalinesolution and an acid so ution, each of said solutions containing'a plurality of different salts dissolved in water, the salts of the; alkaline solution being adapted to compensate. the acidity of the salts of the acid solution, and an ingredient adapted when said solutions are'mixed to generate a tenacious foam 8. A fire extlnguishing agent comprising an alkaline solution and an acid solution,

each of said solutions containing a plurality' ofv difi'erent salts and a; small amount ofglycerine, said solutions when mixed together being adapted to generate a foam.

corresponding to the plurality of aci 9. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an acid and an alkaline solution, said alkaline solution containing glue, licorice and saponin mixed therewith, said solutions when m'xed together being adapted to generate a 031.

10. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an acid and an alkaline solution, each of said solutions containing glue, licorice and saponin mixed therewith, said solutions when mixed together being adapted to generate a foam.

11. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising an alkaline solution containing sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, an acidsolution containing ferric chloride and alumi num sulphate, and glue, licorice and saponin mixed with each of said solutions.

12. A fire extinguishing agent, comprising a solution of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate, a solution of ferric chloride and aluminum sulphate, said solutions also containing glycerine, glue, licorice and saponin mixed therewith.

13. A fire extinguishing agent comprising an acid solution and an alkaline solution, one of said solutions containing licorice.

14. A fire extinguishing agent comprising an acid solution and an alkaline solution, one of said solutions containing licorice and saponin.

15. A fire extinguishing agent comprising an acid solution and an alkaline solution, one of said solutions containing a colloid, a surface-tension-increasing liquid of vegetable origin, and a viscous substance of organic origin adapted to produce a tenacious foam.

16. A fire extinguishing agent comprising an alkaline solution and a solution of a plurality of acid salts of different acid values, said solutions when mixed forming a foam and producing a plurality of precipitates salts,

"QBSQLABMER.

precipitate of any of said salts alone, and a substance for decreasing the surface tension of the liquids.

18. A fire extinguishing agent comprising a solution of an alkaline salt and a solution t5 the bubbles of foam than is formed by the of an acid salt, said solutions when mixed forming a foam and producing a precipitate, said acid solution containing an additional acid salt to produce an additional precipitate forming a medium of more suitable density for holding the bubbles of foam than is formed by the precipitate of either of said acid salts alone, said alkaline solution containing an additional alkaline salt to compensate for said additional acid salt.

19. A fire extinguishing agent comprising a solution of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate and a solution of aluminum sulphate and ferric chloride, said solutions when mixed forming a foam and a precipitate of aluminum hydroxide and ferric hydroxide, said combined precipitate forming a better medium for holding the bubbles of foam than the aluminum hydroxide alone, said sodium carbonate serving to neutralize the ferric chloride.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 16 day of October, 1919.

GEORGE E. FERGUSON. LUIS E. ECKELMANN.

.' 1,421,436. Geo'afQg Ferguson and Luis E. Eo kelmn, New York, N. 'FIBE: v Ex'rmemsmfie AGENT; Patent dated July 1922. Disclaimer filed August Y Hereby entersthis disclaimer- I 4 I p 'To that part of the claim (numbered l3) in said specification which is in the 7 following Words, to wit: J Y

13., A fire extinguishing agent comprising an acid solution, one of said solutions containing licorice.

[Ofioz'al Gazette September 11.. 1.923.]

the assignee, Pyrem Mdmfactur' ing Company.

solution and an alkaline 

